VENICE, Meeting the Creativity - a project for youngs (& adults) for creativity and competitiveness: Best Practice Examples

The Venice Biennale, which has its headquarter in Cà Giustinian '''

The “Meeting Creativity” project features three complementary sections:

·         educational activities for primary and secondary schools through:

a)     Study tours;

b)    Theme-based workshops held by experts;

c)     Advanced workshops and laboratory activities in order to deepen the creative tools and skills of the participants

·         educational activities for university students, families, adults, general public, organized for the International Art Exhibition and for the International Architecture Exhibition through:

a)     Exhibition’s previews where professors, teachers, representatives of the institutions involved and operators interested were trained in order to develop and manage the right formative and professional pathway over the creativity across the Venetian province;

b)    Study tours and specific thematic itineraries;

c)     Creative ateliers and laboratories dedicated to families, aimed at  exploring and practising  new languages experiences following the exhibitions’ themes.

·        Lectures and talks  addressed to students and to the general public as tools to deepen their understanding of the themes of  the exhibitions;

·        Special initiatives for professionals and firms, pivoting on art’s and architecture’s capacity to open new scenarios for graphic designers, photographers, stylists and trend-setters in general and to work as telescopes exploring new tendencies of desire and imagination, available in two versions: ‘the challenge of creativity’ and ‘frontiers of style’.



The participants in these educational events and activities have been, during the 12. International Architecture Exhibition in 2010 a total of 24,864 (15.798 in 2009): more than 2971 teenagers, families and adults from the province of Venice followed educational activities (2237 in 2009). More than 2500 people attended promotional public meetings, workshops, open space meetings and public speeches by professional speakers.



 b) What has been the effect of the project?  

<p style="text-align:justify">The outcomes of the project can be summarized as followed:

<p style="text-align:justify">·        Develop an active involvement towards all kinds of public throughout the Venetian area, particularly for students coming from primary, secondary schools and Universities;

<p style="text-align:justify">·        Increase the public awareness, particularly the youngest, towards the discipline-based contemporary art stimulating an active participation,

<p style="text-align:justify">·        Increase the involvement in contemporary arts by children, teenagers and students, encouraging their creative skills and approach;

<p style="text-align:justify">·        Support adult initiatives for working with creativity and considering it a real opportunity of enhancing entrepreneurship and crafts’ products in the professional arena;

<p style="text-align:justify">·        Develop a permanent creative network where creative people, craftsmen and entrepreneurs (and also representatives of creative industries) carry out together R&D, workshops and laboratories in order to support  competitiveness into the territory of the province of Venice.

c) What advice would you give others?  <p style="text-align:justify">

<p style="text-align:justify">The project aimed at involving students, institutions and enterprises - particularly small and medium sized ones - in order to develop  a “creative citizenship”. In Venice and its Province the Biennale di Venezia was the natural institution for promoting these activities aimed at bringing contemporary arts to the general public.

<p style="text-align:justify">The right approach for implementing the project has been to involve the management of the Chamber of Commerce in the support and implementation of the Biennale di Venezia educational project concerning all the entrepreneurial matters, hence aiming at involving the entrepreneurs directly.

<p style="text-align:justify">The Chamber of Commerce of Venice deems this project significantly innovative, mainly for two aspects:

<p style="text-align:justify">·        Firstly, because the Biennale di Venezia  “Meeting Creativity” project, supported by the Chamber of Commerce  has been and will be founded by the Chamber’s own budget without the support at any level, neither regional, nor national, nor European, hence the sustainability of the experience is well-defined;

<p style="text-align:justify">·        Secondly, because the Chamber of Commerce is aiming at strengthening and enriching connections, with the territory and the citizenship, which can support the creation of a community of participants to the Biennale di Venezia  exhibitions. The involvement of the Venice participants will be twofold: basic for those who for the first time will approach contemporary arts, more specialized for those who are already acquainted.